Philadelphia Phillies 2017 Team Preview
Offseason Additions
Outfielder Howie Kendrick—In November, the Phillies acquired Howie Kendrick from the Los Angeles Dodgers for Darin Ruf and Darnell Sweeney. After primarily playing second base for most of his career, last year Kendrick played more games in left field for the Dodgers than anywhere else and will continue to play left field on the Phillies.
Unfortunately, last year was the worst full season of his career and he’s not getting any younger. For the first time since 2010, he was a below-average hitter and his defense in left field didn’t make up for it. He has a history of hitting lefties slightly better than righties (11 percent better than league average against left-handed pitchers compared to 4 percent better than league average against righties), but last year he was actually much worse against lefties than righties.
Outfielder Michael Saunders—Saunders was signed as a free agent in January. Back in the day, the Seattle Mariners had high hopes for Saunders. After too many injuries prevented Saunders from becoming a solid, everyday player, the M’s finally gave up on him before the 2015 season when they traded him to the Blue Jays for J.A. Happ. He was injured and missed most of that season, but came back last year to have a good season with the bat. He had a career high 24 home runs and tied his career best with 57 RBI. Unfortunately, he rated very poorly on defense. If that continues, he won’t help the Phillies’ young pitching staff.
Starting Pitcher Clay Buchholz—Buccholz was traded by the Red Sox to the Phillies for minor leaguer Josh Tobias in December. When you look at his numbers, you see why the Red Sox were frustrated with him. Over the last six years, he’s had the following ERAs: 3.48, 4.56, 1.74, 5.34, 3.26, 4.78. That’s a roller-coaster ride. The same can be said for his strikeout rate, which has bounced from 16.1 percent to 23.1 to 17.9 to 22.8 to 15.8 percent.
Projections use a player’s last three years and some regression to predict what a player will do, but Buchholz defies prediction. He doesn’t seem to have an average season. He’s either good or bad. If you believe in an odd year/even year pattern, then this will be one of his good years.
Relief Pitcher Joaquin Benoit—Benoit will turn 40 in July but it still looks like he has gas left in the tank. Last year he had a 2.81 ERA and struck out 25.5 percent of the hitters he faced. His walk rate was higher than usual, but he can still be a serviceable setup man.
Relief Pitcher Pat Neshek—Neshek should have a label on him for all managers to read: “Not for use against left-handed hitters.” Last year he allowed lefties to hit .240/.321/.646 against him, while righties hit just .169/.209/.254. If you’re in a tight spot and need to get a right-handed hitter out, Neshek’s your man.
Hitting Coach Matt Stairs—It’s hard to know how much a hitting coach can help a team, but the Phillies could definitely use the help. They ranked last in the major leagues in runs per game and slugging percentage last year, and second-to-last in on-base percentage. Of course, talent means much more than a hitting coach, but Stairs will do what he can to change the mindset of the team’s hitters.